BTC -Kunti Betta
For the uninitiated, Kunti Betta is just another hillock that resides in your short term memory, as you drive past the town of Pandavapura. For the explorers here at BTC however, it is an opportunity to trek to the top of a beautiful hill, and spend a day exploring new trails and rock formations, all the while making friends with people who share a flair for exploration.
The pair of hills named Kunti betta, are located outside Pandavapura, a small town which gets its name for having been one of the places the Pandavas spent a considerable part of their exile at. Located about 15 km from the town of Srirangapatnam, Kunti betta is accessible by both road and rail. According to folklore, Kunti Devi, the mother of the Pandavas, frequented the two picturesque hills located on either side of a pond, overlooking the town of Pandavapura, leading to the locals christening this hill as Kunti betta, which in Kannada translates to Kunti’s hills.
The day long trek to Kunti Devi’s favourite haunt, began at around 6:00 AM on a Sunday morning with the trekkers meeting up at the Bengaluru Railway station. The 16 member group was welcomed by the organisers of the trek, BTCians Ashish and Shilpa, eagerly waiting for us with tickets to Pandavapura in hand. After a round of safety instructions and the ceremonial gathering of attendance, we boarded the 7:30 AM train to Pandavapura, scrambling to get seats for each other. Most of the two hour journey we spent sharing of our past trekking experiences.
We reached the Pandavapura railway station and took auto-rickshaws to the base of Kunti betta. A round of formal introductions and some jokes about each other’s hobbies later, we began the trek to the top of the first hill. Ashish lead us forward, the group forgot they were strangers a couple of hours ago, and Shilpa made sure no one was left behind. The weather, on the other hand, made sure no one was tired. The trail to the top of the hill was marked by picturesque views of lush green fields, lakes hidden behind the hills and one of the best views of the town of Pandavapura. A few of us made use of this heavenly opportunity to get pictures for our Facebook and Instagram feeds, while the rest of us just enjoyed the beauty of mother nature.
An hour and of half of trekking up the hills on a meandering trail, through rocks of different shapes and sizes, brought us to the summit. Along with it came the 360 degree view of the Karnataka countryside that we had trekked to catch a glimpse of. We stayed at the top of the hill for some time, trying to etch every detail of the splendid view, either on our cameras or on our minds. Satisfied with our efforts we decided to trek back down a different path, lost our way and then found another route back to the base of the hills.
Deciding it was enough adventure for one day, we sat down to finish the plethora of homemade dishes that made up the potluck. Energised with the food in our stomachs, we played charades, each of us taking turns to enact the names of the movies that were given to us, the rest guessing which movie it could be, and never realising it was already time to make a move back to catch the 4:30 PM train to Bengaluru.
Though we made it back to Bengaluru tired from the day’s exploration, we all said our goodbyes knowing that we had spent a fun-filled day making new friends and finding new trails, eagerly awaiting the next opportunity to do it all over again.
The pair of hills named Kunti betta, are located outside Pandavapura, a small town which gets its name for having been one of the places the Pandavas spent a considerable part of their exile at. Located about 15 km from the town of Srirangapatnam, Kunti betta is accessible by both road and rail. According to folklore, Kunti Devi, the mother of the Pandavas, frequented the two picturesque hills located on either side of a pond, overlooking the town of Pandavapura, leading to the locals christening this hill as Kunti betta, which in Kannada translates to Kunti’s hills.
The day long trek to Kunti Devi’s favourite haunt, began at around 6:00 AM on a Sunday morning with the trekkers meeting up at the Bengaluru Railway station. The 16 member group was welcomed by the organisers of the trek, BTCians Ashish and Shilpa, eagerly waiting for us with tickets to Pandavapura in hand. After a round of safety instructions and the ceremonial gathering of attendance, we boarded the 7:30 AM train to Pandavapura, scrambling to get seats for each other. Most of the two hour journey we spent sharing of our past trekking experiences.
We reached the Pandavapura railway station and took auto-rickshaws to the base of Kunti betta. A round of formal introductions and some jokes about each other’s hobbies later, we began the trek to the top of the first hill. Ashish lead us forward, the group forgot they were strangers a couple of hours ago, and Shilpa made sure no one was left behind. The weather, on the other hand, made sure no one was tired. The trail to the top of the hill was marked by picturesque views of lush green fields, lakes hidden behind the hills and one of the best views of the town of Pandavapura. A few of us made use of this heavenly opportunity to get pictures for our Facebook and Instagram feeds, while the rest of us just enjoyed the beauty of mother nature.
An hour and of half of trekking up the hills on a meandering trail, through rocks of different shapes and sizes, brought us to the summit. Along with it came the 360 degree view of the Karnataka countryside that we had trekked to catch a glimpse of. We stayed at the top of the hill for some time, trying to etch every detail of the splendid view, either on our cameras or on our minds. Satisfied with our efforts we decided to trek back down a different path, lost our way and then found another route back to the base of the hills.
Deciding it was enough adventure for one day, we sat down to finish the plethora of homemade dishes that made up the potluck. Energised with the food in our stomachs, we played charades, each of us taking turns to enact the names of the movies that were given to us, the rest guessing which movie it could be, and never realising it was already time to make a move back to catch the 4:30 PM train to Bengaluru.
Though we made it back to Bengaluru tired from the day’s exploration, we all said our goodbyes knowing that we had spent a fun-filled day making new friends and finding new trails, eagerly awaiting the next opportunity to do it all over again.
Written By : Shushanth A
Organized By : Ashish and Shilpa
Date of event : 2nd June 2018
Place : Kunti Betta
Pictures : BTC FB Page
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